Strawberry Boys?
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: What happens when a nearby boys' academy has an accident, and students are given refuge in Astraea Hill? How will the characters react to this news? Please note that there will be no pairing of boys with the girls, this is STILL femslash.
1. Prologue

**Fucking hell, life just doesn't like me right now. To take my mind off things, I've decided to turn the internet off for a while and write a YayaXTsubomi piece for the first time in a while, because I never see them on the fandom anymore, and HOPEFULLY my feelings won't influence this piece as they have before, meaning a little less angst and a little more love. Basically I'm gonna try and go somewhere with an old plot idea, about maybe incorporating boys into Astraea Hill in some legitimate way. So please review if you want more, this is just an idea…**

**Also, it occurred to me that I need to point this out- this is not, nor will it EVER be, an attempt to pair the girls up with boys, AT ALL. I don't even pair people up with OCs, especially male ones. So please, give this story a chance, it's more for fun than anything, and review if you want it continued.**

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Prologue**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**oOOOo**

"I am sooo bored."

Silence.

"Soooooo bored."

More silence.

"And hornyyy~"

Okuwaka Tsubomi slammed shut the book she was currently reading, her cheeks flaming, and turned to glare at the culprit, who was currently sprawled over her (_her!_) bed, one leg flung haphazardly over the side of the bed and the other resting in Tsubomi's lap. "Why are you telling _me _this, baka?" she snapped, flustered.

The playful-faced brunette grinned up at her like the cat that ate the canary. "Because I know my little Tsubomi-chan's secretly a hentai at heart," she chimed, stretching her arm out so that her fingertip prodded into Tsubomi's fiercely blushing cheek.

"Yaya-sempai no baka!" Tsubomi shrieked, jumping off the bed in a delayed reaction, causing Yaya's leg to fall to the bed rather anticlimactically. "I'm not a hentai, if anyone is, it's Yaya-sempai! Get off my bed!"

Stretching like a panther, her arms reaching high above her head, Yaya kept grinning up at Tsubomi. "Ah, but then you'd miss me," she said.

The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure I would," she replied haughtily. "Right after I'm done throwing a party in your absence."

"You're too lame to throw a party, Tsubomi-chaaan," Yaya replied, playfully poking Tsubomi's arm with her toes. "You need to _relax_."

"And wind up like Yaya-sempai?" Tsubomi asked, folding her arms over her chest with a smug smirk as Yaya's grin became more of a pout. "No thank you."

"Tsubomi-chan's such a fun-sucker," Yaya mumbled, rolling over onto her stomach.

Tsubomi scowled and had opened her mouth to reply when a sharp knock came at the door. Glancing back over at the immobile Yaya, she sighed and walked over to see who was at the door. When she opened it, her eyes widened and she blinked several times out of shock.

"T-Tomori-sama?" she asked, stunned, as the Spican president had never visited their dormitory before. "Um, not that we're not glad to see you, but-"

"We're just really not," Yaya interrupted from beside her, having gotten up sometime within the few seconds Tsubomi had hesitated. The brunette was leaning against the wall, arms folded over her chest, and Tsubomi thought for a moment that she seemed a bit like a guard dog, staring Shion down with her dark, expressive eyes and folded arms. The thought forced a shudder down her spine, and thusly she quickly shook it away, finally comprehending what Yaya had said, as well as taking notice of Shion's clenched fists.

"Yaya-_sempai_," Tsubomi growled, flushing in embarrassment (and most certainly _not _anything more) from her sempai's behavior. "Gomenasai, Tomori-sama, I-"

Shion sighed and waved off the apology. "This delinquent is hardly your responsibility, Okuwaka-san," she said, causing Yaya to grit her teeth, "and besides, I'm here on strictly business matters."

"Right, well, that's too bad, we were hoping you were going to stay for tea," Yaya muttered, earning her a heated glare from Shion and an elbow to the ribs from Tsubomi. "Owwie, Tsubomi-chaaan~, she started it…"

Ignoring the brunette's whining, Tsubomi turned back to Shion, who, she'd just noticed, looked rather stiffer than usual. "Is…is there anything wrong, Tomori-sama?"

Shion sighed, her posture relaxing slightly as she lifted a hand to massage her temples. "There's been an…accident at another boarding school, just a few miles away from Astraea Hill," she said after a moment. "Usually the students would merely have a few extra days away from school, but in this case, the damage was extensive, and could take months to repair." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Therefore, the Head Sister has generously made an exception to Astraea Hill's policy on males on the campus grounds for the time being-"

"Woah, hold on a second," Yaya cut in, earning herself a penetrating glare from the already frustrated Shion. "_Men_, as in…_men_?"

"That's generally what the term 'male' _means, _Yaya-baka," Tsubomi snapped, though she was noticeably less bothered by the news than either Yaya or Shion. Turning back to the tired-looking president, she asked, "When will this be taking place, I mean, when will they be arriving? And why did you come to us about this?"

"Within the week," Shion said shortly, "And I'm warning everyone in Spica, it's tiring but it's my job."

"Males on campus, this is _ridiculous_," Yaya spat, her eyes dark with anger. Tsubomi was about to correct her (elbow her) once again before Shion spoke up.

"I could agree with you more, as much as I never thought I'd say those words, Nanto-san," she stated dully. "The reputation of Astraea Hill will be irreparably tarnished, despite the funding our schools are receiving for hosting our 'guests'." The blonde wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Luckily the entire school won't be attending, only select students whose parents insist on them staying in school while their own school is being serviced. But that's still a good chunk of the student body." She sighed and shook her head. "I have to go alert the rest of the Spican student body, have a pleasant day," she said, as if without thinking as she pulled away from the door.

Tsubomi shut the door to their dorm room and turned to Yaya, who looked positively outraged. "Yaya-sempai, maybe you're taking this a bit too hard…," she began, only to be cut off by Yaya's furious glare.

"Of course you would think that," the brunette snapped in a very unfamiliar tone, causing a shocked Tsubomi to shrink back slightly. Yaya's eyes widened and softened at the sight, and she seemed to break away from whatever spell had come over her. "I'm sorry, Tsubomi-chan, but you just don't understand this."

Tsubomi frowned, folding her arms over her chest petulantly. "I beg to differ- who was the one focused on _listening _instead of glaring at Tomori-sama?"

Yaya huffed and lay back down on Tsubomi's bed, arms tucked behind her head, her shirt riding up to reveal her toned stomach. The pinkette's breath caught in her throat and she forced her gaze away with some degree of difficulty. "I heard what was important," the brunette said simply.

"And why is it such a big deal?" Tsubomi questioned. "Of all people, I wouldn't take _you_ for the type to be a stickler for campus policy."

"'m not," the brunette muttered, and Tsubomi found herself flushing slightly, the sight of a pouting Yaya being just a little bit adorable.

"Then stop being so upset about this, it's not even permanent," Tsubomi replied, sitting on the bed at Yaya's feet and pulling her shoes on, oblivious to the way Yaya's dark eyes gazed at her with an unreadable emotion flickering through them.

**For all of you who've seen Adventure Time, is it just me or does PBXMarceline bear a startling resemblance to YayaXTsubomi in more ways than one?**

**Please review!**


	2. One

**Kenneth Black: Thanks, I've been wanting to put this idea to use for a LONG time now, but I could never find a good way to start it before now :P**

**xMaskedDestroyerx: I love those two, and yeah, you have a pink-haired tsundere and a black-haired flirt/tease, the only real difference is that it seems to be Marceline who has feelings for PB, at least from what I can see, and Tsubomi's the one with feelings for Yaya.**

**Huggler: Thank you :3 And to be honest, what was going on in real life wasn't necessarily business as it was a bunch of emotional crap that really wore me and my inner writer down, so I am sorry about the huge break. Well, first off I'd forgotten about that one episode, lol, and second I figure that their personalities are so opposite, that's how they would normally react to each other, but who knows. And yeah, you have to love a cute dom :3**

**XPPPP: Thanks :3**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: Lol, I've had the idea for a long time, I only just now got a real feel for the topic while trying to write something ENTIRELY different :P Thanks, I just kinda liked the way the scene was like that :3 Is this soon enough? ;P**

**Imaspfan: Thanks! I adore Yaya and Tsubomi, they used to be a popular forum pairing but now they've kind of stopped being written, so I took it upon myself to bring them back :3 **

**Shadow Apparation: Thanks :3 And I know, right? The only real difference I can see (other than PB being CANDY and Marceline being a red-drinking vampire :P) is that Marceline seems to be the one with feelings for PB, and Tsubomi's the one with more obvious feelings for Yaya. Well, you'll find out about that first bit soon, and for the second part, Yaya is just a very dominant kind of girl, any kind of male interaction at her school, I imagine, wouldn't sit well with her. There used to be so much of it, but now nobody writes them anymore D: And thanks :3**

**Hey guys, thanks for so many reviews, I'm updating a bit early in thanks, please keep them coming! **

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**One**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**oOOOo**

Chikaru sat at the council table, her chin resting on her intertwined fingers as she observed the meeting in front of her.

As usual, she was sitting back and letting Shion and Miyuki settle things in their less than productive manner.

As usual, Miyuki and Shion were already going for each other's throats.

However, what wasn't so usual was that Shion seemed thoroughly distracted; usually her mind was nowhere but on Spica, but today she seemed like she was doing things almost halfheartedly.

When the meeting ended (early, because for once Shion let Miyuki win an argument with minimal arguing), Chikaru stopped Shion from leaving the council room, much to Shion's (and the now trapped Miyuki's) dismay. "What's wrong, Shi-chan?" she asked, reaching out to touch the Spican's forearm. Shion jerked back, more out of reflex than anything.

"Nothing," she muttered under her breath, attempting to push past Chikaru, who easily blocked her exit. "And don't call me that, Minamoto-san."

Miyuki scoffed from behind her, walking up to the two girls. "I assume Tomori-san just doesn't like the idea of the boys' school being merged with our own," she stated matter-of-factly. Turning to Shion, she continued, "You really are impossibly easy to read."

Grumbling under her breath, the Spican scowled but, uncharacteristically, had no rebuttal, and instead turned her gaze determinedly to the floor. Miyuki's eyebrow raised in surprise, but she shook her head and brushed past Chikaru and out of the council room, choosing not to think about whatever was running through Shion's mind.

"Shi-chan…" Chikaru began once Miyuki had left, reaching out and holding the Spican's chin in her fingertips.

"I've got things to do, Chikaru," Shion muttered, shoving past the Le Rim president more brusquely than Miyuki had, the door slamming shut behind her.

Suddenly bathed in an uncomfortable quiet, Chikaru's small, slightly cheerful smile faded away into a look of hurt that could have melted the heart of any onlooker. Whatever friendship she had with Shion had been ended on the Spican's part for the sake of academics and politics years ago, but Chikaru had never forgotten the hardheaded, stubborn-to-a-fault, but s_weet _girl she had come to know (and maybe more) growing up, never stopped trying to make Shion remember.

And now it was as if the Spican was openly resentful towards her- indifference was bad enough, but Chikaru had no idea what she'd done to deserve this treatment from the blonde.

She suspected Miyuki's assessment was correct about Shion's attitude to a point- Shion had always been rather prideful and territorial of things she considered to be hers, which, Chikaru assumed, included her role in the Spica student council. It was painfully obvious that Shion felt as though her position in Spica would be threatened, however irrational the thought itself actually was.

But her behavior towards Chikaru in itself was enough to baffle the raven-haired girl- for as long as she had known Shion, even once their friendship fell apart (fell apart, she thinks, but it was more like it just disappeared entirely), the Spican had always been relatively pleasant towards Chikaru.

**PGBR**

"It's just like you to pull something like this _now_, isn't it?"

Shion clenched her jaw, her fists following suit. "Leave me alone, Miyuki, I'm sure you have more important things to do than harass me."

"Harass you?" Miyuki asked in a slightly incredulous tone before letting out a small, disbelieving laugh. "I'm hardly _harassing _you, Tomori-san, I haven't told you anything you're not already thinking."

"You don't know what I'm thinking," Shion ground out, knuckles whitening around the railing of the stairwell.

"I know you well enough to know what you feel for Minamoto-san," Miyuki stated coolly. "You hardly hide it, I'm surprised she, of all people, hasn't picked up on it yet." The blunette paused, staring at Shion as though trying to decipher the stubborn Spican. "It's just like you to pull something like this now, Shion," she repeated. "For years you've treated her with cordial indifference at best, and now you're acting like a petulant child the moment you hear that there is a very real chance she could be taken away from you."

Shion's eyes hardened. "What are you talking about, Rokujou?"

Miyuki rolled her eyes at the Spican's hostility. "You and I both know Chikaru well enough to know that she is extremely resistant to the affections of other girls, other than yourself, obviously," she stated, "But who knows how easy it would be for a man to woo her? I know you, Shion- you need power, and you're threatened by it all at once. Even if another girl were to catch Chikaru's eye, it would be easy enough for you to reclaim her attention, but a man…now that's a different subject entirely, isn't it? Who knows if you're enough to fill the position of a man in her eyes?"

And Miyuki left her like that, eyes wide and unseeing, knuckles white around the metal bannister.

Because who knows you better than your worst enemy?

**PGBR**

Tsubomi still wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with Yaya, which was disconcerting in itself considering how easy it was usually for her to read the brunette's emotions. But Yaya had recovered well, and was almost back to her usual self the next day, as if she'd forgotten about the boys altogether.

Then again, the pinkette wasn't thinking entirely clearly, as Yaya was currently sitting on a bench outside of Spica, placed between herself and Hikari, right arm dangling casually around the back of the bench on Tsubomi's side. It was a minor victory, and really absolutely nothing to be proud of, but after having watched Yaya mourn Hikari for as long as she had, the mere idea that Yaya could favor her presence over the blonde's sent an irrepressible wave of pride through her body.

Oblivious to the fast-paced inner monologue going on beside her, Yaya yawned widely and sunk back between her two favorite girls, a small grin teasing at the corner of her lips as she felt Tsubomi shift, subtly attempting to lean her head against her outstretched arm. Yaya adjusted said arm until it was within Tsubomi's reach, and grinned to herself when the pinkette made herself comfortable against it. Turning to her old best friend, she noticed that Hikari was staring off into space, something she did more and more nowadays.

_Probably thinking about Prince Charming_, her inner voice muttered, not so much out of spite as out of habit. But for some reason it was starting to hurt less and less every time she caught Hikari watching Amane and her stupid white horse.

"What do you think it'll be like?" Hikari suddenly asked, causing Tsubomi to sit up straight and Yaya to tense, having an idea of what was on the blonde's mind already. "Having boys at the school, I mean."

Yaya slumped down in her seat, already checking out of the conversation, and felt an uncomfortable twinge in the pit of her stomach when Tsubomi seemed to perk up at Hikari's question.

"Well," Tsubomi began in a tell-tale know-it-all tone, "Before I came to Spica, I went to a co-ed school, so I guess it'll just feel kind of nostalgic. But there _are _pluses to having boys around."

"Like what?" Hikari asked, and Yaya felt a stab of spite towards her best friend for egging Tsubomi's enthusiasm on.

Tsubomi bit her lip. "Well, for starters, some girls find it easier to talk to boys than other girls," she said. "They don't take everything so seriously and I've heard that relationships are much less complicated with boys."

Yaya actually scoffed at this, causing Tsubomi to shoot her a venomous glare. "You're just spouting off stereotypes, midget, I doubt you've ever even _had _a boyfriend," she stated bluntly, meeting Tsubomi's glare with an unreadable expression.

Tsubomi blinked several times- she had no idea what Yaya's reaction was about, nor would she have expected such a snappish remark from her usually happy-go-lucky sempai. Then she flushed, realizing what Yaya had said. "I'll have you know that I _have _had a boyfriend before, Yaya-baka," she snapped, even though it was a lie; she had to defend her pride _somehow_. The brunette's eyes darkened with something Tsubomi couldn't place before Yaya looked away from her, staring petulantly out at nothing in particular. The pinkette rolled her eyes and turned back to Hikari, who was biting her lip, watching the brunette worriedly.

"You have to admit that it would be a change, right, Hikari-sempai?" Tsubomi asked, deliberately ignoring the pouting brunette beside her. Yaya huffed loudly, causing the pinkette to glare her into silence again. "What is your problem, Yaya-baka?" the younger girl asked, finally turning to acknowledge Yaya. "They're not even _here_ yet, you can't possibly hate them _already_. And even if they were, it's not like Yaya-sempai to hate someone for no reason," Tsubomi said, her tone becoming softer and more confused as she spoke, frowning at Yaya, who stared stubbornly ahead of her.

"I don't see why they have to come here in the first place," the brunette muttered, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Tsubomi sighed.

"Whatever, Yaya-baka," she replied, "Just _try _and behave, they'll be here tonight!"

Yaya grumbled under her breath, unable to overlook the way Tsubomi's eyes lit up in excitement, her tone lighter than usual.

"They're just _boys_," she muttered, causing Hikari to give her a sympathetic smile. The blonde had somewhat caught on to Yaya's plight, and rubbed her arm comfortingly, which served to elicit a very quiet growl from a certain pinkette on the brunette's other side, one that, luckily, Yaya was too preoccupied to catch.

**I am sooo sick guys, I can't stop coughing (which is weird for me) and I feel dizzy and like I could pass out any time and I'm not even drugged up. Ugh, this is the FOURTH time I've been sick this winter, and I NEVER get sick.**


	3. Two

**FrostyAsian: Thanks :)**

**ShadowApparation: Yeah, nobody really seems to like the boys, I'm pretty sure it won't be any different with this next fic, only obviously it's a different situation entirely. I don't really expect any boy put into SP to be well liked, lol. Oh, ick, I forgot about her :/ Oh well, I'll think of something for our favoritest Etoile :P My roomates both gave me colds, my sister gave me one, and now I have this mystery cold :/**

**Yorusoiluverz: Yeah, especially when you have to walk a mile to classes every day, lol. Thanks :3**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: It really is, specially when you still have to walk around in the bipolar Colorado weather all the time, lol. Yep, that's Shion for you :P**

**XxBloodwolfxX: Thanks :3 YayaXTsubomi rules! I haven't written for them in a while, but what the hell, right?**

**xMaskedDestroyerx: Yeah, Shion's personality frustrates me to no end at times, because I have this problem with wanting everything to move FAST, to jump right into things, but for Shion that's just OOC, it bugs the crap out of me :/**

**going-rogue2374: Thanks :3 Well, it's been done a lot, I'm just sticking with popular opinion (and my own) lol. Their personalities just FIT.**

**oOOOo**

**Ever had that feeling where you just go numb? Things don't hurt as much as they should, either because you saw it coming or you didn't, but then when it's all over, all that's left is this weird, surreal feeling, like you can't believe it actually happened…**

**Anyway, my heart to all my reviewers, you guys keep me posting, so thanks a million, and thank you for your concern as well!**

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Two**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**oOOOo**

Shion sat ramrod-straight in her chair at the head of the dining hall, her hands clutched into small fists on her lap. The tension sizzling just below the blonde's skin was almost physical, and if she had been a little less focused on being a good hostess to their new 'guests', she would have noticed a certain president sending her concerned looks every few minutes.

As usual, Chikaru was seated in between Shion and Miyuki, functioning as the ever-present buffer outside of council meetings. Her gaze kept darting between the cool, unreadable Miyuki and the fiery, transparent Shion, wondering who she needed to keep an eye on more. Shion was clearly seconds away from bursting with tension, but Miyuki was as opaque as ever- she could be perfectly calm, but for all that Chikaru knew, she could be seconds from a complete meltdown. From what she knew of Miyuki, the girl had led a completely sheltered life since her schooling began.

Shaking her head, Chikaru finally decided that Miyuki was more likely to be able to keep her cool in this situation, regardless, and focused her attention on Shion.

"Shi-chan," she murmured, sliding a cautious hand over the Spican's and squeezing, blinking, shocked at just how tense Shion was. "What's on your mind?" she asked, tilting her head and rubbing her thumb along the back of the blonde's hand.

Shion let out a long sigh through her nose, reveling in the contact before she remembered herself and jerked her hand away, trying desperately to ignore the look of hurt written across Chikaru's painfully expressive face. "Nothing of your concern, Minamoto-san," she stated stiffly, shifting in her seat so that she was leaning slightly away from Chikaru and her tempting scent.

A noise came from the doorway, and violet eyes narrowed, laser-focusing on the opened door at the entrance to the hall.

**PGBR**

Yaya was the picture of disregard, slumped down in her chair, scowling in a way that would give the Head Sister a stroke. Beside her, Tsubomi was sitting up straight in her seat as a large group of boys, preceded by a squat man with a bald head and a magnificent mustache walked through the doorway. The small girl was practically falling out of her seat in eagerness. Yaya glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes and huffed loudly, purposefully, but was ignored by the pinkette, who was watching the boys with rapt attention.

"You'd think she'd never seen a boy before," the brunette mumbled to Hikari, who was leaning against a painfully apathetic Amane, looking content as ever. The blonde shot her a sympathetic look. "Oi, pinky, what happened to your 'boyfriend'?" she asked, grabbing Tsubomi by her waist and yanking her back into a normal sitting position so that Yaya's lips were only centimeters from the pinkette's ear.

"What boy-" Tsubomi began before she caught herself, "I mean, what do you mean, Yaya-senpai?" she asked, annoyed.

"You act like you've never seen a boy before," Yaya repeated. "I don't know if I believe you about that whole boyfriend thing."

Tsubomi glared at her, flushing darkly. "Well, that's not my problem, now, is it, Yaya-_baka_?" she asked defensively, oblivious to the reason for Yaya's sulking, and turned back to the front of the room, where the Head Sister was welcoming the new boys, along with the three presidents. Hikari bit her lip, feeling sorry for her normally playful, outgoing best friend as the brunette visibly deflated, despite having been so snarky only a moment before. Yaya never _could _hold onto a façade for long at all- in fact, her openly expressive face invoked a weakness in Hikari, not one big enough to leave Amane, but even so.

Standing up and walking around to sit at the chair on the other side of Tsubomi under the pretense of saying hello to a fan, Hikari touched the pinkette's arm lightly to get her attention. Tsubomi started out of her boy-induced shock and turned to face her, blinking several times. "Oh, um…hi, Hikari-senpai," she stuttered.

"Tsubomi-chan," Hikari began, not entirely sure how she was going to say what she wanted (needed) to say. "Um…" She lowered her voice as a precaution, causing the pinkette to frown in confusion. "You have noticed that there's something off with Yaya-chan, right?"

"More off than usual?" Tsubomi asked dryly, before catching the scolding look in Hikari's eye and shrinking back. Hikari was only ever strict when she truly _had _to be- this must have been more serious than Tsubomi had assumed. "Well, yeah. At some times, she's more touchy feely than usual," here Tsubomi blushed deeply, "but at others it's like she's completely shut down."

Hikari nodded, trying not to wince at the familiarity the words brought her. That was almost Yaya's textbook reaction while Hikari had been in her beginning phases with her relationship with Amane- it had only just now sunk in because of how very neglectful she had been to her best friend during that time. "I can't tell you exactly why it's happened," Hikari began unhelpfully, and Tsubomi rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly try to hide her distaste for the Etoile at times, not anymore. "But please, be careful with her, and remember, even though she likes to pretend she's above this, there's only so much she can take."

Tsubomi frowned in confusion as Hikari got up to sit in her original seat on the other side of Yaya, but scooted a bit closer to the brunette nevertheless, and was rewarded with a firm arm snaking around her waist, pulling her closer to Yaya. The brunette was still sulking for whatever reason, but at least she didn't seem quite as unhappy anymore- Tsubomi would just have to investigate later on.

**PGBR**

Shion knew she could be stubborn, and proud, and angry, and territorial, etc… And she knew she could go overboard with these emotions at times, but she was _positive _that she wasn't the only one who would be angered by what was going on in front of her.

A single, handsome boy had come forward and bowed before Chikaru. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said with a winning smile, which Chikaru returned in kind. "We will do our best to insure that Astraea Hill does not regret her decision."

Shion felt her head go hot, as if her blood were _literally _boiling. Her fists were clenched, as was her jaw, and it was all she could do not to shove the disrespectful boy away from Chikaru. How dare he treat Chikaru as if she were just another girl to be seduced?

"Not _jealous_, are we, Tomori-san?" Miyuki asked in a low voice, having slipped over to Shion's other side. "Because that would mean admitting that I was right."

Shion growled, whipping her head to glare at the blunette. "I am _not _jealous!" she snapped hotly. "Why would I be _jealous_?"

Miyuki shrugged. "You look like you're about to strangle Honda-san, and all he's done is be polite," she said nonchalantly. Shion gritted her teeth and returned her gaze to Honda Kenshi, who had chosen just that moment to lift Chikaru's hand and press a kiss to the back of it. A low growl rumbled in the back of the Spican's throat, and Shion sprung into action, shoving herself between Chikaru and the boy. She caught Miyuki smirking out of the corner of her eye, but there were more important matters at hand than one rather stuck up Miator president.

"Um…hello," Kenshi said hesitantly, startled by Shion's sudden presence.

Shion glared at him without remorse until Chikaru placed a comforting hand to her forearm, one that the Spican wanted to shake off, but chose not to under the current situation. "Tomori Shion," she said by way of an introduction. "You may call me Tomori-sama or Tomori-san, nothing less. Same goes for Rokujou-san and Minamoto-san, do you understand?" Shion practically snarled, leaving the boy looking legitimately shaken.

She felt Chikaru's grip tighten around her arm, heard the warning "_Shi-chan_" hissed in her ear in that scary tone the Le Rim president only got when she was truly angry, but who was Chikaru to tell her how to behave? It wasn't as if they were _dating_. Ignoring the rush she felt at the thought, Shion continued, "In case you hadn't noticed, there _are_ three of us, and Chikaru holds no more pull at this school than the two of us, if possible even _less_, so don't waste your ass-kissing skills on-" Suddenly a cool, soft hand was clapped impossibly tightly over her mouth, and a sweet scent invaded her nose as Chikaru seamlessly darted between them.

"I'm horribly sorry for her behavior, Kenshi-kun," the Le Rim president stated, and Shion grumbled into her hand as Chikaru forcefully tugged her out of the back door of the dining room and towards the student council room.

"_Kenshi-kun_?" Shion spat as soon as Chikaru released her from her iron grip. "Well isn't that _adorable_?"

Chikaru whirled on Shion, eyes blazing with _very _rare anger. "What _was _that, Shion?" she asked in a loud whisper, stepping closer to the blonde. "Kenshi-kun is a _guest _at our _school_!" she exclaimed, her voice growing louder as they reached the council room and Shion shut the door behind them. The smaller girl took two long paced towards the Spican, who was still pressed up against the door, and glared up at her with an intensity that sent shivers down Shion's spine. "You will go out there, and you will _apologize _to Kenshi-kun!"

"Who are you to tell me how to behave?" Shion asked, though her tone wavered at the sight of the truly annoyed girl before her. Whenever Chikaru became truly angry, she reverted to angry mother-mode, as Shion had coined it back then, before… Shion shook the thought from her head and forced herself to meet Chikaru's eyes.

Chikaru simply raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest. Still, Shion raised her chin in some kind of stubborn pride, and the raven-haired girl was forced to answer out loud. "I would assume," she began in a voice that was both quiet and deadly all at once, one that Shion remembered all too well, despite almost never hearing it (and why _was _it that she only ever heard this tone directed at _her_?), "that the way you practically marked me as your territory out there gives me the right to ask you to behave as a civilized human being, Shion-chan."

Shion's jaw dropped. "_What_?" she asked, totally dumbfounded. _Marked her? Well, I mean…but how would Chikaru _know_? _"_Marked _you?"

Chikaru sighed and nodded, slipping into an empty chair as though the situation exhausted her. Shion followed behind, grasping the back of the chair without really thinking about what she was doing. "Pushing yourself in between Kenshi-kun and I, demanding he call me _san_…" Chikaru paused, her expression morphing into something akin to hurt. "Letting me touch you for the first time in years…" She shook her head, leaning forward and burying her face in her palms. "When are you going to _decide_, Shion?"

Shion frowned, confused. "Decide?"

"Between your head and your _heart_," Chikaru specified, lifting her head and turning to Shion with an absolutely exhausted expression. "I gave up trying to show you what could be if you just let yourself _live _for a moment- clearly you aren't a person who can listen to both at one time. More accurately, neither of them ever agree, do they?" She reached up and ran her fingers lightly down Shion's uniform, in a circle where her heart was located, then pulled away, tugging gently at the Spican's bow tie.

Shion ran a hand through her hair, subconsciously leaning closer to Chikaru. "Minamoto- I mean, Chikaru-chan," she said quietly, "I'm sorry, I-"

Chikaru pressed one finger to the Spican's lips, silencing her easily. "Don't apologize, Shion-chan," she said softly, "not while you're not sure what you're apologizing for in the first place."

Shion frowned. "There's only one thing to apologize _for, _though…"

"Yes, but there is more than one choice that you may want to apologize for making, Shion-chan," Chikaru said, her voice growing fainter by the moment. "At least, now, while you're not sure what that choice will be. Don't apologize for one only to come back later to apologize for the other instead. I know you, Shi-chan, and I know what you're like when you know what you want. And that's not the Shion I see standing before me today."

Shion bowed her head in something- shame or confusion, she wasn't quite sure. "I'm sorry," she said again, her voice gruff, and Chikaru seemed to understand the difference between the two apologies. "I never meant to hurt you."

Chikaru smiled faintly. "It was inevitable, Shion-chan," she said softly, "And it would be selfish of me to believe I'm the only one hurting- this must be horribly confusing for you." With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Shion alone to stew in her thoughts once again.

**Who do you guys want me to pair up with Tamao? Other than Miyuki and anyone who's already taken that is, and I don't like Nagisa or Shizuma enough to write them for extended periods of time, sorry D: Other than all my pickiness, what do you guys want to see?**

**Also, I'm sorry if parts of this chapter don't match up or came off half-assed, I went through a severe mood change in the editing stages, and I'm already tired even though it's not even eleven (loooong night), but hopefully it isn't too apparent.**

**Please review!**


	4. Three

**Huggler: Don't worry, Shion gets better- she's a sweetie underneath all that bluster, really. Well, I figure she's right about that boy-crazy age…I thought I was in love with an annoying little blonde boy who was three inches shorter than me back when I was that age :P Oh, I love that pairing…I'm having such a hard time deciding D:**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: I love Shion :3 No, Tamao isn't going to be straight, lol, she's too gay for that :/ **

**xMaskedDestroyerx: It's all about the buildup :3 Nope, I don't want Tamao to be alone, straight, or with an OC…but I have a question I've always wondered about (anyone feel free to give their opinion): if I did ship these two in this fic, who would be on top? They both have top-ish qualities, though I'm leaning towards Tamao being the top for some reason…**

**Shadow Apparation: Yep, obliviousness when it comes to yourself is really something everyone faces- at least, something I face, lol. Don't worry, there'll be a happy ending :3 I'm currently torn between her and Miyuki, as the votes have been cast.**

**going-rogue2374: I think the age difference is a year larger, because Yaya is a year younger than Tamao, right? Anyway, thanks for your vote :3 Age won't be a factor in deciding.**

**xannaxmurderx: Thanks :3**

**TheDarkAznVampZard: Thanks :3 And aww, that means a lot to me :3**

**ChibiRox: Will do :3**

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Three: Hold Onto Your Women**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**oOOOo**

Tsubomi blinked sleepily, trying to keep her eyes open as she sat in one of the pews in the chapel during choir practice. She'd hardly been able to sleep the night before, what with the excitement of the boys that she would be interacting with, and Yaya had never come out of her sulky stage. The brunette hadn't even spoken to Tsubomi once they got back to the dorm room, choosing to sleep with her back to the younger girl.

And now she was feeling the effects of a nearly sleepless night as she leaned back against the cold, hard wood. Choir was her first class of the day and, coincidentally, the only class that none of the boys would be attending, considering the temporary nature of their stay. Beside her, Yaya was slumped back against the pew as well, arms folded over her chest, and Tsubomi found herself glancing at the older girl out of the corner of her eye, weighing her options.

She had never taken herself to be one of _those_ girls, the ones who mooned after the objects of their affections, or swooned over the smallest gestures. But now she found herself looking for excuses, always looking for windows in which she could touch Yaya, if only a little bit. At the moment, she was contemplating leaning against the brunette's shoulder- true, Yaya had been more affectionate recently, or at least, more open to Tsubomi's nervous contact, but there was also her attitude, her scowl that stayed in place even when her arm was around the pinkette.

Tsubomi bit her lower lip, deciding that she should probably find out whatever it was that Hikari knew before anything else. "Yaya-senpai," she began, prodding Yaya in the side, swallowing back the rush of longing that always came now whenever the brunette would look her way, "Is everything okay?"

"Huh?" Yaya asked, blinking and staring at Tsubomi for a moment before she shook herself out of whatever stupor she was in. "I'm fine, pinky," she finally said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Tsubomi scowled at Yaya's clear avoidance. "I don't know," she huffed, "you're the one acting like a freak or something ever since you heard about the boys coming."

Yaya growled under her breath. "I'm not acting like a freak," she muttered belatedly. "If anyone's acting like a freak it's you, fawning all over them even though you haven't even tried to talk to one of them yet." Her tone was sullen, and Tsubomi frowned in confusion, turning to watch Yaya, who was glaring straight ahead.

"What's your problem, Yaya-baka?" she snapped, her patience running thin.

"I don't have a problem," the taller girl mumbled, leaning back against the pew sullenly. "I'm not the one fawning over a bunch of boys I've never even met."

Tsubomi was officially confused- it was fairly obvious that Yaya _did _have a problem, and that whatever the problem was had something to do with her feelings about the boys. "Why is that a problem for _you_?" the pinkette asked huffily, though her heart was twisting inside her chest as her mind raced to possible conclusions.

_Don't get your hopes up, you stupid girl. This is Yaya we're talking about- _Yaya_._

Yaya shrugged moodily. "'s annoying," she muttered, shoulders hunched, her arms folded over her chest. "And you haven't even met them yet- imagine how obnoxious you'll be when they're put into classes."

Tsubomi straightened indignantly, her hesitant hopes that Yaya might have returned her feelings ruthlessly dashed, but she refused to allow the brunette to see the crushed hope in her eyes. "If I'm so obnoxious, nobody's forcing Yaya-senpai to be around me," she shot back, her petulant tone not doing much to hide the pain in her voice. "In fact, I'd appreciate the break."

Yaya seemed to stiffen beside her, and her dark gaze morphed into dark scowl, refusing to meet Tsubomi's eyes. "Whatever," she muttered, and suddenly the pinkette found herself feeling extremely guilty for some reason she wasn't sure of. It wasn't like Yaya not to fight back, and this new, more docile and sullen Yaya made Tsubomi miss her teasing senpai.

How was it that she could set out to right this whole thing, but just end up making everything worse?

**PGBR**

Chikaru sighed.

She was leaning on top of the table in the council room, her arms folded in front of her as she watched the volley between Miyuki and Shion. In the space between the two meetings, Shion had gone from lukewarm to boiling- it almost gave Chikaru jet-lag.

Shion hadn't so much as glanced her way since the events of the night before, and Chikaru had begun to feel as if she'd been too hard on the Spican with her reprimanding. She was sure she was correct in thinking that Shion didn't know what she wanted, but she was worried that her scolding had taken a blow to the blonde's rather prominent ego.

Currently, she and Miyuki were arguing over something laughably trivial, even in comparison to most of their other arguments- Chikaru thought it might have had something to do with silverware in the dining hall.

Eventually, Miyuki rolled her eyes and strode out of the room, maintaining her dignity in her usual cold fashion, leaving Shion fuming behind her.

That, at least, hadn't changed.

After a moment of silence, Chikaru spoke.

"Shion-chan…"

The blonde seemed to jump a little bit; she'd clearly forgotten Chikaru was there, which wasn't entirely uncommon when she and Miyuki got into their arguments. "Minamoto-san," she stated once she had calmed slightly, turning to face Chikaru, her features instantly softening. Chikaru frowned at how easily Shion returned to the formalities, but shook it off- she knew the Spican better than anyone, and Shion was always formal to a fault, avoiding personal matters at all costs.

_And what are the costs, in the end?_

"What happened yesterday?" Chikaru asked, standing and walking over to Shion's side of the table. She was a couple inches shorter than the blonde, but was well aware of Shion's weakness- she stood mere inches away from the Spican, never breaking eye-contact. Shion shifted under the intense gaze.

"You tell me," Shion muttered gruffly, tensing as though she were trapped, though her entire left side (and the path to the door) was wide open. It was as if Chikaru had captured her with her mere presence. "As I recall, you were the one making all the decisions."

Chikaru sighed, her eyes falling to Shion's bow tie; she was sure that the Spican would hear her out at this point, and keeping eye contact while Shion was being so out of character would surely shake her resolve. "I meant before that, back in the dining hall," she said softly, reaching up to fix the Spican's collar mindlessly. "You weren't exactly welcoming to Kenshi-kun. You realize he will be joining us in council meetings as of Friday, don't you?"

The blonde stiffened, her eyes flashing, but showed no physical emotion. "I know."

Chikaru waited for a moment, until it became apparent that Shion wasn't going to continue. "You're going to have to be more civil towards him, Shion-chan, I-"

"I _know_, Chikaru!" Shion snapped, her violet eyes staring accusingly into Chikaru, taking the dark-haired girl by surprise. Those same eyes widened when Chikaru pulled away from her in shock, and instantly became filled with guilt and regret. "I apologize, Minamoto-san," she muttered, turning away from Chikaru to stare at the table in front of her. "I don't have a problem with Kenshi-kun in particular," this, Chikaru could tell, was a bold-faced lie- Shion had never been able to lie to her face, "but the mere idea of men having a say in our school's decision-making…"

"I know, Shi-chan," Chikaru replied gently, reaching back over to Shion and tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear. She, more than anyone, knew that Shion felt her control and power was being threatened with the addition of the male population. "But it's only temporary."

Shion sighed. "I know," she muttered. "But they shouldn't be here, Chikaru."

Every time Shion said her name, Chikaru felt her heart go into overdrive inside her chest, and she couldn't resist stepping just a little bit closer to the Spican, taking a chance and tugging at her bow. It was a flimsy excuse to be so close to the blonde, but Chikaru wasn't so prideful that she wasn't willing to take what she could get. "It'll be okay, Shion-chan," she finally said. "I can't predict how the rest of the school will accept the boys, but I'm not going anywhere."

She leaned forward and pressed a brief, feather-light kiss to the Spican's cheek before slipping away from Shion and out the door, leaving one madly-blushing and confused blonde behind her.

**PGBR**

Yaya had a problem with jealousy- or rather, more accurately, she had a pronounced possessive streak. She was well aware of this, and usually it caused her no problems, as most girls she liked before Hikari had wanted her back. And when it came to Hikari, she was so used to the Amane-fangirling that the jealousy in that respect had become almost routine, a part of her life that she just had to accept. And surprisingly, now, even those feelings seemed to be fading away to be replaced by a kind of disembodied acceptance.

But watching her little pinkette eagerly awaiting the integration of the boys into Astraea Hill? It made a whole new kind of jealousy flare up within her, almost like a flash fire, consuming her in an instant. When it was just Hikari and Amane, Yaya was used to being pushed to the backburner- Tsubomi, on the other hand, had always (always) put Yaya first, no matter how much she groused about her. And now it seemed as if she were losing that, too- and to a bunch of stupid, hormonal _boys_.

She was a lot like the president of her school in that manner- Yaya was simply a very dominant personality, and the idea of boys being mixed into Astraea Hill had made her feel extremely threatened from the very first time she'd heard about it. She was used to making girls blush, to teasing and flirting with them, something not many girls at the Hill did. But with the boys around…Yaya remembered public schooling, remembered how her older brother used to come home with at least three girls a week. She remembered being so shocked that _he _had wormed his way into the favor of so many girls- at least until she saw him in action.

Many boys made it their personal mission to charm girls, much like Yaya did, and with so much added competition, it was very hard _not _to feel threatened. Tsubomi's clear fascination with the boys only served to make things a hundred times worse. Yaya felt a certain degree of possessiveness over the pinkette, due to the fact that it had been Tsubomi who had dragged her out of her Hikari-stupor and stood faithfully by her side for so long. Every time the younger girl would mention her excitement over the boys, Yaya felt a rush of jealousy straight to her core, and she was extremely bad at hiding it.

At that particular moment, she was heading to dinner with the pinkette and Hikari, who had agreed to meet Amane in the dining hall. Although her feelings for the blonde had just about passed, Yaya was grateful for her company, as she provided a minor distraction from Tsubomi and her stupid infatuation. The comfort passed as quickly as it had come, however, as they entered the dining hall only to find boys sitting all over the place, mixed in with the girls, who, for the most part, already seemed to be loving the situation. Tsubomi squealed in excitement, and Yaya felt a new wave of possessiveness bubble to the surface.

Beside her, Hikari squeezed her hand. "I know it's hard, Yaya-chan, but you have to try to be a little less obvious," she whispered in the brunette's ear. Yaya turned to her, frowning in confusion. "You growled, Yaya-chan," Hikari giggled. "Kind of loudly."

Yaya huffed and sat down at their usual table, where Tsubomi was already actively chatting with a skinny blonde boy. Her jaw tightened and, before she could think it through, her left arm had snaked tightly around the pinkette's waist, her eyes boring into the side of the oblivious boy's skull. Thankfully, Tsubomi was already used to the contact, so she subconsciously leaned in to Yaya, not recognizing the motives behind her actions.

The boy's eyes flickered to Yaya's for only a moment before he turned back to Tsubomi. The brunette felt her muscles tense at his blatant disregard of her claim- he didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest. Unable to do much at this point, she tightened her arm around Tsubomi's waist.

_If you never let go, she can't slip away…right?_

_**But you never let go of Hikari, either, not when you should have. And whose arms is she in now?**_

**So I have to worry about getting a job and now I'm feeling like a loser again because I'm fairly sure I'm being lied to and I'm just SO fucking done with relationships (or maybe just girls). It's like life is shipping MeXForever Alone :/ **

**Spoiler alert: I think it's going to happen.**

**So I'm writing more fanfiction :3 **

**Sorry for the delay, please remember to REVIEW!**


	5. Four

**Shadow Apparation: Wow, thanks :3 I'll keep updating, I just have a bunch of stress on me PLUS trying to write an original story at the same time. Oh yeah, I realized that after I wrote the first line, lol, and I was like, that would sound deep, I should put that in! lol. This chapter focuses a lot on those two :3**

**xMaskedDestroyerx: Well, you saw what happened with Hikari- I think she's just hesitant, despite being outgoing. Don't worry though, she can't keep her mouth shut forever. I love Shion, but she is a bit tedious with her stubbornness :P**

**Jacheis: Yep, must love girls, lol. I'm a girl too, it really is impossible to avoid angst as one, even if you try. Sorry, I'm trying, but there's a bunch of stuff going on.**

**Huggler: They'll get their act together soon enough :P Don't worry, Tamao's in this one, though I'm not sure you'll like her pairing- I don't know if I do either, but it fitted the story. That's a good idea, only where would our gaynst be? D: He'll only further the plotline, don't worry, lol :P Aww, I'm sorry…I mean, I've never been in the EXACT situation, but I know how it can hurt when someone you care about wants someone else.**

**Smiles: Aww, poor guys, go easy on them :P **

**Kaze Rei: I do love Shion and Chikaru :3 Miyuki did talk to Shion once in the beginning, but she's mainly an instigator for the poor girl in this :P Oh, I'm glad you like that, I just added it in as a thought :P**

**XxBloodwolfxX: Thanks! I'll update as quickly as I can :3**

**So I've revealed my Tamao pairing…I'm sorry to those of you who wanted a different one, I kind of did too, but I was afraid of making it out of character…I might write another story with her and one of the other characters, though.**

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Four: This is How We Fall Apart**

_**iAtethePoisonApple**_

**oOOOo**

Shion stood a few paces behind Honda Kenshi, violet eyes following him like a hawk as Chikaru gave him a tour of the Le Rim campus. The boy had been slightly confused (and mildly terrified) when he learned that the Spican president would be accompanying them. He'd asked Chikaru about it discreetly when he'd first seen Shion, but she'd just smiled enigmatically and tugged at the Spican's collar, causing her to stiffen and blush profusely.

Shion had no less than insisted on attending the scheduled tour, much to Chikaru's amusement. She knew Chikaru thought she was being ridiculous, though she wasn't entirely sure if the raven-haired girl had figured out _why_. But she wasn't about to let this boy charm his way into Chikaru's heart, not after her conversation with Miyuki a few days back.

The whole arrangement was rather amusing for Chikaru, who had actually taken to stepping within Kenshi's personal space on purpose just to tease the blonde behind her. It had been an accident at first, or close to that- Chikaru was simply the type to touch people as she was talking, or stand closer to them to show her interest. The first time she'd touched Kenshi's arm, though, the Spican had cleared her throat loudly behind them, and the reason for her attendance was suddenly crystal clear to the Le Rim president. Chikaru had been mildly annoyed at first, because for as patient as she was, her feelings for Shion were constantly causing inner turmoil, and it didn't seem fair for the Spican to keep her away from other people and yet not take her for herself. But, being Chikaru, she'd quickly made a game of it, having found a way to subtly get revenge on Shion for her recent behavior.

Unfortunately, Kenshi seemed to be reading too far into Chikaru's actions; had Shion not been so intent on keeping them apart, she might have understood why the boy seemed to think Chikaru was interested in him, and maybe even sympathized with him. But as it was, the moment Kenshi placed his hands on Chikaru's arms to gently move her out of the way of a sudden barrage of first years, Shion growled and tugged Chikaru back by the hem of her sweater. The smaller girl let out a small, surprised yelp, but recovered quickly, turning to face Shion, who had yet to let go of her sweater, meaning they ended up about an inch from each others' faces.

"Is there a problem, Shion-chan?" she asked, smiling sweetly at the glowering blonde, reaching up to straighten her bow.

"Don't play dumb, Chikaru," Shion growled. "I know you better than that; it's insulting that you think I'd fall for your innocent routine."

Chikaru's smile fell slightly, her expression becoming one of resigned acceptance. "Do you, though, Shi-chan?" she asked quietly. "Know me, that is? We haven't spoken properly in years."

"Don't start this now, Chikaru," the Spican replied. "You know you're leading him on."

"Am I?" she asked, turning to find Kenshi conversing with the head Sister, who had just walked into the entrance hall. Then she turned back to Shion, her head tilted to the side, expression unreadable. "Are you sure?"

Shion frowned in confusion. "Of course I'm sure," she stated, running a hand through her hair. "He thinks you're interested in him; don't tell me you haven't noticed him returning your little gestures. And if I've noticed, there's no way you haven't, Chikaru."

Chikaru giggled slightly, shaking her head. "No, Shion-chan," she replied, pulling away from the Spican as Kenshi began to walk back towards them. "I mean, are you so sure that I won't return his affections?"

Violet eyes almost tripled in size, and Shion's body went rigid. "Chikaru-"

"Are you ready to continue the tour, Kenshi-kun?" Chikaru asked, pasting her usual smile back into place as she twirled away from Shion just in time to cover up their conversation. "I think the best part of Le Rim is our clubs…"

The two headed towards the staircase, leaving Shion standing behind them, paralyzed with shock. Helplessness was an emotion of the weak, or so she'd always said, but at the moment, she felt so hopeless and utterly lost that she couldn't even bring herself to move. The emotions were shooting through her at an indescribable pace- first shock, then fear, then an irrepressible wave of jealousy, and finally, pain.

She was losing Chikaru, the one person who had always stood by her side- the one person she'd always taken for granted. She'd never felt so helpless in her life; what could she do to fix things _now_ if Chikaru was finally moving on?

_No._

She wouldn't lose Chikaru, not without a fight. That wasn't in the Spican nature. She wouldn't let this stupid Kenshi boy steal sweet, forever-smiling Chikaru away from her.

**PGBR**

Yaya was just about ready to murder someone, preferably someone scrawny, blond, and too small for his ears.

The boy that had been talking with Tsubomi the night before was in the pinkette's art class, a class that Yaya was taking as a teacher's aide, and the two appeared to be glued at the hip. They'd already partnered up for portrait-painting, and had hardly picked up their brushes for being so busy talking to each other. It was uncharacteristic of Tsubomi to do anything but follow the teacher's orders, and Yaya was just about to break character herself to go split them up under the pretense of not doing their work and talking in class, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced up to find the teacher of the class gazing down at her sympathetically.

"I know it's hard, Nanto-san, but she'll only resent you if you come between them."

Yaya huffed, turning back to face the two, her arms folded over her chest. "So what am I supposed to do? Let it happen? Again?"

"How about showing her that you're a better choice?" the teacher asked. "There are other ways to keep her than splitting those two apart. Better ways."

"I don't like him being around her," Yaya pointed out unnecessarily. "Can't we bust them for talking and pair her up with Acne-san over there?" She pointed to a boy with a particularly bad breakout, and the teacher chuckled before patting her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sure we could," she said, "but that's pretty out of character for you, Nanto-san, and I think Tsubomi's smart enough to realize that."

Yaya grumbled.

"Just hold on, Nanto-san, I've seen the way she looks at you." she said before walking away to check up on the students' progress, leaving Yaya to sulk on her own.

When the class ended half an hour later, Yaya was sprawled out across the teacher's desk, blatantly skipping out on her duties as teacher aide, doing everything she could to banish the image from her mind.

"Yaya-senpai?"

The brunette lifted her head slightly to find a concerned Tsubomi staring down at her, frowning slightly. Yaya sat the rest of the way up, immediately assuming a nonchalant façade. "What's up, Tsundere-chan?" she asked, but her playful grin was a ghost of its previous self.

Surprisingly, Tsubomi didn't rise to the bait. "Is something wrong?" she asked quietly.

"You mean wronger than whatever you've been asking me about for the past week?" Yaya replied, raising an eyebrow. Tsubomi sighed.

"I mean today…or then, I guess," she said, eyes falling to the floor, her books resting on her hip. "Whenever I ask you about it, you act annoyed and brush it off, but then when you're alone, you just seem really sad."

"I think your vision's going, Tsubomi-chaaan," Yaya drawled, yawning widely and stretching as she stood up. She walked around the desk and thrust an arm over the pinkette's shoulder, pulling her out of the classroom to finish the conversation.

Tsubomi frowned. "I hate it when Yaya-senpai lies to me," she muttered, drawing Yaya's expressive eyes to her face once again. "She's really bad at it, I can always tell when she's not telling the truth…"

Yaya felt an uncharacteristic wave of guilt for upsetting the girl she liked to think of as her pinkette, and ducked down to press a quick kiss to Tsubomi's cheek. The reaction afterwards was only icing on the cake, really.

Tsubomi flushed brighter than an overripe tomato and stood stock-still for several moments, floundering as if trying to say something, before she finally decided on wiping away the kiss and smacking Yaya on the back of the head. "People might start getting ideas, baka!" she hissed, although the brunette noticed that she didn't shrug away from her arm, and took advantage of this by drawing the cherry-red pinkette closer to her side as they walked to choir together.

**PGBR**

Up until this point, Suzumi Tamao had hardly been affected by the integration of men into Astraea Hill- Shizuma was keeping Nagisa far and away from any and all things with male reproductive organs, and even if she weren't, she'd already lost Nagisa to the silver-haired girl, so there was no real threat. She didn't even get involved at all until Rokujou Miyuki had approached her with the intention of training her to become the next Miator school president, and, once she had accepted, informed her that Honda Kenshi would be attending the council meetings that she'd be sitting in on.

"This should be interesting," Miyuki said as she led Tamao to the council room. Tamao cocked her head in confusion, and she specified, "Toumori-san in particular has a problem with Honda-san. Usually she focuses all of her energy on arguing with me, but with Honda-san around, it might be a bit of a balancing act for her."

"She just doesn't like that he gets along so well with Chikaru-sama," Tamao replied with a shy smile. "I don't think she should be so threatened by him, though, if she knows how Chikaru-sama looks at her…"

Miyuki raised her eyebrows. "I'm impressed," she said after a moment. "You're quite perceptive." Tamao nodded slightly and blushed. She'd always had a small crush on the Miator president, but it had never posed much of an issue- up until now, when she'd have to work in close contact with her. She'd never been the best at hiding her feelings. "But on that note, I don't think Toumori-san realizes how Minamoto-san feels about her at all. She's always been bull-headed." Miyuki sighed, running a hand through her hair tiredly as they came closer to the council room. "It looks like she's already gotten started…"

Sure enough, as Tamao slipped into the room after Miyuki, she found the fiery Spican president already on her feet, leaning onto the table towards Kenshi, fire in her eyes. "You have no right to propose something like that- you and your school will be here _temporarily_!"

Tamao sat down in between Miyuki and an amused Chikaru, who had Kenshi on the other side of her. "I'm just saying, our choir is renowned, and together with Spica's female choir-"

"_No_!" Shion roared, and Tamao jumped slightly, surprised by how threatening her somewhat high-pitched voice could sound. "You're sitting in on these meetings through our Head Sister's orders, nothing more; do not be fooled into thinking you have any kind of pull at this school!"

"Shion-chan," Chikaru began mildly, still wearing her effervescent smile, "at least give him a chance. Put it up for vote with the girls of the choir, perhaps? I agree with Kenshi- with the right combinations, male voices would add a whole new dimension to the choir."

Tamao felt as though she were looking in on a private moment as Shion's gaze shot to Chikaru, eyes tinged with poorly disguised hurt masked by annoyance. "The choir is strictly the business of the Spica council," she said coldly. "And therefore, up to myself to decide whether or not men should be integrated."

"Unless you bring it up with the Head Sister," Miyuki added, earning herself a lead-melting glare from Shion. The blonde gathered her things into her arms and made her way toward the door, making sure to shoulder Kenshi on her way out.

"Just stay out of my way, Honda-san," she growled, her eyes flashing with anger and something that Tamao was hesitant to place. She glanced over to Chikaru, who looked like she might cry, and back to Shion's tense, retreating back, and her shoulders slumped.

It seemed like nobody but Shizuma and Nagisa would ever have their happily ever after.

**No, teacher gets no name, though it probably would have flowed better if she had…I'm at college right now, it's too much of a hassle to look up another Japanese name.**

**So I'm supposed to go to a HUGE job fair at this one place on the 8****th****, but the problem is, I have been (unprofessionally) diagnosed with social anxiety, which means I'm awful in crowds, and especially when I need to be impressing people and have high stress on me. It's something my mom's forcing on me, I'm nowhere near prepared enough, there's so much that you need to have done that I don't, and I KNOW my mom is trying to make me feel like I'm the only teen in the world without a job (and sometimes it feels that way and I just want to curl up and cry) even though I know I'm not, just because of my classes alone. I'm not ready for it, and I won't get my medication (for my anxiety and stuff) until the day AFTER. I just don't know what to do, there's going to be huge crowds and I'm TERRIBLY shy, and that's the last thing employers want. I'm scared, I'm not ready to be kicked out of the house like I know my mom's trying to do, I'm ready for a job but I'm NOT ready to go out into a huge MOB of people and try not to pass out from fear. And my mom keeps making me feel like a lazy bum, like if I don't have a job, I'm not good for anything just because I'm in college and (legally) an adult now. I just hate me sometimes…**


	6. Five

**TheDarkAznVampZard: I'm nineteen, a lot of kids (adults? O.o) in my classes don't have jobs either, but my mom makes it sound like it's the end of the world… I'm not going, I won't be able to at this time, I just hope I won't guilt myself too badly (this is a major issue with me :/). That's great, the fandom is totally dying, I can't wait to read it :3**

**Shadow Apparation: Well, I'm sorting out all the details at the moment, I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen just yet :P Well, the thing with the job is that if I could get one at my own pace, I do want the money, and I am willing to work for it. It's just this social anxiety that literally makes it impossible for me to do these things when I'm pushed into it, or in a huge crowd.**

**ChibiRox: Thanks :3 Don't worry, there'll be more :3**

**Kaze Rei: Missing what? Thanks :3 It was a spur of the moment idea, lol, I'm glad you liked it. And thanks :3 **

**Jacheis: Well, it's not anything that prevents me from going about my normal life (like classes, even making friends and such if they're willing to put up with my initial shyness) but something like a job fair as crowded and stressful as this…I just can't go, and it feels really pathetic, like I should be able to make myself go, but I can't…ugh, it's frustrating. Well I'm glad you like it, I'm going to try and write them as well as I can :3 I think at the moment, Shion/Chikaru is my favorite. Well thanks, then :3 **

**going-rogue2374: I'm not sure if Yaya would accept the job :P But Shion and Chikaru are a year underneath Shizuma and Miyuki, so Spica won't need a new president for a while :3 **

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Five**

_**iAtethePoisonApple**_

**oOOOo**

"So…about you and Toumori-san…"

Chikaru stood and turned to the bashful-looking brunette boy who had dropped by her last class to walk her back to the dorms. "What about myself and Shion-chan?" she asked, flawlessly masking her emotions behind a small, understated smile.

Kenshi frowned as if thinking of the right words for what he was about to say. "Are you two…together?" he finally asked, then winced, clearly chiding himself for his wording. Chikaru giggled. "It's just that Toumori-san really doesn't like me, and I don't know what I've done to upset her, but it seems like it has something to do with you."

"Shion-chan is just a bit territorial," Chikaru replied lightly, smiling softly at the boy as he held the door for her. She waited for him to catch up before continuing, "I think that she's afraid that with the men here on the campus, she'll lose her standing at Spica. And as for me…Shi-chan and I used to be…friends." Her voice was hesitant, almost as if it pained her to say the words. "Back before her father began to train her for taking over the family business. Shion-chan has always been far too formal for her own good; she took it on herself to eliminate those who weren't…_productive _for her career." Chikaru's eyes were slightly pink, and she'd very nearly spat out the word productive- Kenshi decided there was definitely something more behind her explanation, but kept it to himself for the time being. "I suppose she still thinks of me as something of her territory."

The remark was so casual it was almost painful. It was very obvious that Chikaru was hurt by whatever Shion had done, and that the fact that the blonde seemed to want to keep her away from any and all threats wasn't much of a comfort to her. "Ah," was all he said.

Chikaru smiled sadly. "That pretty much sums it up," she replied. Her eyes clouded over, and Kenshi wrapped an arm around her waist reflexively, if only to make sure she didn't walk into anything in the midst of whatever zone she'd gone to. "But she's such a sweet girl, you know," she finally said. "Blunt, hard-headed and so _oblivious_, but she's always been such a sweet girl. She doesn't have it in her to willingly hurt anyone, and I think that might be why I can't seem to let her go…"

A single tear streaked down her cheek, and Kenshi panicked, wide-eyed, and rubbed her arm, because he really, really couldn't handle crying girls. "Hey, don't cry," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice, but it just came out a little choked. Chikaru giggled through her tears.

"I'm sorry, Kenshi-kun," she stated, gently wiping the tears away from her eyes. "It's just been a while since I've thought about it all."

Kenshi nodded, and was about to reply when he felt an ominous shiver jolt down his spine. He turned slowly to the left, and yep- he was dead.

"What did you _do _to her?" Shion snarled, instantly pushing away from the wall, where she'd clearly been waiting for Chikaru, and effortlessly invading his personal space. She was a rather small girl- or at least, only about an inch taller than Chikaru, and Kenshi was surprised by how intimidating she seemed when she closed in on him. She was so close that he could literally feel the rage pouring off of her body- it was clearly an intimidation technique, a trait very characteristic of the Toumoris. "I swear, if you _touched _her-"

"Shi-chan."

Chikaru's voice was faint, but seemed to carry for miles as that small proclamation was enough for Shion's entire demeanor to change. The Le Rim president stepped towards the blonde and deliberately stood away from Kenshi, on Shion's other side, resting her hands on the girl's arms. "He didn't do anything to me, Shi-chan," she said quietly, brushing the blonde's hair back behind her ears. "I was just remembering some things, and he just happened to be with me when I did."

Kenshi frowned at her words, wondering why honest Chikaru would try to cover up their conversation- until he realized that she was only softening the blow. He could see the rage sparking in Shion's eyes, and also how quickly it had gone out when Chikaru had made a point to step away from him.

"But…" Shion stammered, before sighing and deflating entirely. Chikaru smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around the blonde's shoulders, an action that seemed to both startle and appease the Spican. When she'd finally relaxed into the embrace, she continued, "What was it, then?"

"Nothing that's important now, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied in a voice that almost broke Kenshi's heart, especially since he knew what Chikaru was crying over. "Walk me back to my room?"

Shion's lips curved into a small, almost shy smile as she held her arm out for Chikaru, the first real smile Kenshi had seen her wearing, and he realized that he needed to disappear. He stepped away from the girls and continued towards his own room in an area of the dormitories that had been marked off for his school, resolving to talk to Chikaru tomorrow. The girl was something special, and if Shion finally grew a pair and told her how she felt tonight, then he would back away quietly, but if not…he wasn't going to make the same mistake that she had.

**PGBR**

Yaya was lying on her back, smirking up at the ceiling as she ran her fingers mindlessly through the soft pink hair of her surprisingly cuddly kouhai.

The pinkette had insisted on finishing up her English project that night, never mind the fact that it was due days from now, and Yaya had made a silent pact to stay up with her. Tsubomi had ended up only lasting until around eleven at night, and had gone from sitting at the desk, to sitting on her bed, to yelling at Yaya for something that slipped the brunette's mind at the moment, to sitting on Yaya's bed, and finally, to falling asleep with her arms curled around her roommate's waist, as if she were clutching a giant teddy bear.

That had been more than an hour ago, and Yaya wasn't any closer to sleep than she had been then. Her mind just kept wandering to that scrawny blond boy, and the way he looked at Tsubomi- the way he made _her _pinkette smile.

Yaya wasn't blind- she knew that Tsubomi had been harboring a crush on her for some time now, and the most infuriating thing of it all was that she had been planning on acting on the feelings that she returned wholeheartedly only days ago. She didn't know why it felt so much harder now- if she had been able to do it on her own, with no provocation, why couldn't she spit it out when her pinkette's heart was at stake?

_But you know why, don't you?_

And deep down inside, she _did _know why- she was terrified, afraid of losing Tsubomi like she'd lost Hikari. Back when Tsubomi's feelings for her were clearer than crystal, and there was no threat of competition, everything had just seemed to fall into place, but now, there was that _boy_, and she didn't know what to do. Yaya knew she wouldn't be able to give up on the pinkette, just like she hadn't been able to give up on Hikari until the last second, but she didn't want Tsubomi to resent her like Hikari had.

_To be _afraid _of you like Hikari was._

Yaya tensed, snapped out of her mood as Tsubomi shifted in her sleep, her head coming to rest on the brunette's chest. The older girl smiled fondly down at her, unable to keep herself from leaning down and pressing a firm kiss to the pinkette's head. Any onlooker would have balked at the obviousness of it all- Yaya wore the same look now as she used to when she looked at Hikari.

**PGBR**

It was all so obvious, but to the two most argumentative girls in Spica, the situation was nothing if not opaque and dizzying.

_It's all so painfully obvious when you look at her like you're so in love._

But Yaya had been burned by love less than a year ago, and Tsubomi had watched it all happen- the pinkette had watched Yaya love Hikari for so long that she didn't even notice when the brunette's feelings were beginning to change. Sure, other girls had confronted her about it, but they had never known what it was like to watch the person you loved love another- they couldn't have.

Because if they had, maybe they would understand why it was so impossible for her to believe that her feels would ever be returned.

And even if they were, Tsubomi was surer than sure that she could never so much as measure up to Hikari in Yaya's eyes.

The pinkette struggled to regulate her breathing as her fingers twitched at Yaya's sides. It was so hard to pretend to be asleep when she was so close to the one person who could make her feel as though she'd been set on fire, and all she wanted to do was run and jump in the water and put it out, but she was paralyzed here, unable and unwilling to move.

Her cheeks flushed crimson when she felt the unmistakable sensation of a kiss being pressed to the top of her head, and she unconsciously held a little tighter to Yaya, content to 'sleep' for just a while longer.

**PGBR**

Tamao was lucky she was such a fast learner, really.

That and a multitasker.

Because if she weren't, she would have no clue what Miyuki had been talking about for the past hour and a half, and that wasn't really the impression she wanted to set as she was being trained for office. But really, it was so hard for her to concentrate with her crush only several inches away from her, and Tamao had never been known for her subtlety in the first place.

"Suzumi-san?"

Tamao was jolted from her thoughts, her violet eyes flickering to inquisitive mocha, and she blushed feverishly. Okay, so maybe she wasn't so great at multitasking. "Sorry, Miyuki-sama," she said, the words slipping through her lips before she could stop them. Miyuki's eyes widened and she seemed to tense, but besides that, she didn't acknowledge the use of her first name, and Tamao decided to roll with it. "I've just been a bit out of it today, I guess," she added, throwing in a sweet, abashed smile that bore a startling resemblance to that of a certain Le Rim president.

Miyuki blinked- she knew that Tamao was known all over Miator for her cute disposition, but she was nowhere near prepared for how adorable the younger girl was physically. "It's fine, Suzumi-san, just don't let it happen again," she finally stated, still slightly bemused.

She turned back to her notes and Tamao's smile fell just slightly as she watched the older girl.

Why was it that she was always going around falling for girls that she could never so much as hope to have a chance with?

She could never fall for one of her fangirls in the literature club, could never fall for Chiyo (who seemed to have taken a liking to her ever since the Shizuma-Nagisa nightmare Etoile Election).

No, it was Nagisa, who loved Shizuma.

Nagisa and now Miyuki, who loved Shizuma.

And besides it all, Miyuki was promised to a man the moment she graduated after this semester.

She'd come to the conclusion that her heart simply wanted what she could never have, and that maybe she should stop listening to her heart before she fell for yet another person who would rip it to shreds.

But Tamao always fell like she'd jumped off the edge of a cliff.

And really, once you jump off the edge of a cliff, you're pretty much screwed no matter what you do, unless by some miracle you manage to land in the narrow stream and not the gallery of sharp rocks surrounding it.

**Because I have the opportunity, I wanted to ask- I was thinking of writing a new fic, like of Harry Potter mixed with Strawberry Panic. Yes, it's crazy and probably weird, but I think it'd be fun to write, like sorting them into houses and all. Would anyone be interested or is it just really weird?**

**And hey, thanks for the great reviews! I really appreciate longer reviews, and you guys have been GREAT about that, it's really encouraging to hear all that you have to say! Please continue to review, it really is motivating!**


	7. Six

**NerdoftheWorld: I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to the crossover, but I'll try my best :3 My classes are pretty overwhelming at the moment :P Unfortunately, I have trouble writing pairings that I don't really ship, basically the only time Shizuma and Nagisa show up is in mention by the other characters. And thank you :3**

**DarkAznVampZard-AnimeFreak67: I read that one! I loved it, it was just perfectly in character and everything. I won't post the HP crossover until I have a good feel for it, but I'll start working on it :3**

**Huggler: Aww, poor Kenshi, he's not a bad guy, really :P But I'm pretty much neutral to him myself xD Well, my opinion of Chikaru is that she's the type to fall in love with the PERSON, not the gender, you know? I mean, Shion/Chikaru is endgame and all, but that's just the vibe I get from her. I didn't think I added TOO much fluff D: I love Momomi/Tamao, writing Tamao/Miyuki is hard D: That's what I was planning :3 It'll just be a while before I can put it up.**

**ChibiRox: Thanks :3 Here's your (long) update :3**

**FrostyAsian: Thanks :3**

**Shadow Apparation: I'm glad you're liking it :3 He's not an ANTAGONIST, per say, but I get what you're saying. I'll get to it as soon as I can :3 And thanks :)**

**Jacheis: Aww, poor Shion D: I'm actually starting to really like Shion, her thickheadedness is kind of adorable when it's not hurting Chikaru :P I always feel so bad for Tamao :(**

**oOOOo**

**Strawberry Boys?**

**Six**

_**iAtethePoisonApple**_

**oOOOo**

It was a gorgeous day outside- sunny, warm and with just a little bit of a breeze, and that's how Yaya found herself relaxing in the deep green grass beside the lake.

She'd been planning to stay in her room all day, but a certain nosy, loud-mouthed pinkette had found her and forced her to "enjoy the fresh air". She was actually enjoying it quite a bit, but she didn't necessarily have to let Tsubomi know that…

"Okay, you've got me- at least tell me whatever your perverted reason for kidnapping me was," she stated melodramatically, stretching her arms out over her head only to yelp when Tsubomi kicked at her hand.

"Shut _up_, baka!" Tsubomi hissed, glancing around frantically for any sign that somebody had heard them. She caught Hikari watching them from a few yards away, but judging by the amused expression on her face, she knew that it was just Yaya being Yaya. "Don't be such a hentai!"

"Tsubomi-chan dragged me out here with mysterious intentions, and I'm the hentai?" Yaya asked, grinning when the pinkette flushed bright red.

"Ugh!" Tsubomi growled, folding her arms tightly over her chest and turning away. "I don't know what I was thinking, dragging _you _out here when Yuuki-kun invited me to take a walk with him."

Yaya tensed immediately, pulling herself into a sitting position. "He invited you on a walk?" she asked, struggling to keep a neutral tone, though her expression had morphed from one of playful teasing to one of intense jealousy. "He doesn't even know his way around the school," she added, huffing and mimicking Tsubomi's posture, arms resting on top of her knees, her voice muffled by her jacket.

"At least he has better things to do with his time than antagonize me," Tsubomi shot back petulantly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She gave a small start when she heard Yaya give a low growl from beside her.

"Don't you ever shut up about these stupid boys?" Yaya spat, and Tsubomi blinked, completely taken aback by the sudden mood shift. "You know all that's going to happen is that you're going to get attached to one of them, and then they're going to leave."

Some instinct inside of Tsubomi told her that she shouldn't reply- that she should just let Yaya have her way, but the brunette's words struck an unknown chord within her. "There are such things as cell phones and the mail, Yaya-baka," she huffed. "If I happened to fall in love with a boy, it's not like it has to end as soon as they leave."

"Fall in…" Yaya's face twisted into an expression of disgust, mixed with something else that Tsubomi couldn't quite place. She scoffed and stood up. "You're so naïve, it almost makes me feel sorry for you," the brunette shot before turning and storming back towards Spica, leaving a wide-eyed pinkette behind her.

Tsubomi had never _seen _Yaya behave like that, even at her worst, when Hikari and Amane disappeared for a whole night. She turned to Hikari in shock, but the blonde only gave her a sympathetic half-smile as she bit down on her lower lip, watching after Yaya.

**PGBR**

"Don't you ever stop working, Shion-chan?"

The blonde glanced up from the mountain of paperwork in front of her, only to meet a set of wide, slightly-amused amber eyes. "Not when there's work to be done, Minamoto-san," she replied.

"But it's such a beautiful day outside," Chikaru replied with a soft smile, stepping around the Spican's desk and seating herself on top of it, her legs crossed daintily. "Come on, Shion-chan, just an hour?"

Shion's face flushed at Chikaru's proximity. "M-Minamoto-san, please get down," she stated gruffly, turning her head to the right, away from Chikaru. The Le Rim president's expression softened further, and she reached out to run her fingers along Shion's flaming cheek.

"Always so noble, Shion-koi," she murmured, only to snap her jaw shut as she realized what she had just said. She felt Shion tense underneath her fingertips and pulled away slowly, as if she'd said nothing at all. Chikaru rarely misspoke, but when she did, she knew how to handle the situation carefully. "If you won't join me, then I'll just have to ask someone else," she sing-songed, successfully pulling them out of the awkward mood of the room.

Chikaru watched as Shion's jaw clenched. "Who?" the Spican replied lowly, and through her teeth, as though she were trying her hardest to sound neutral.

"You've always been so terrible at hiding your emotions, Shion-chan," she said gently, smiling somewhat wistfully as she gazed unabashedly at the blonde.

Shion, however, didn't seem to hear this, or simply didn't care. "_Who_, Chikaru?" she asked, her knuckles whitening around the desk.

"If you're so threatened by Kenshi-kun, why don't you do something about it, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked quietly, staring down at the floor. "It would be so easy, so simple-"

"It's _not _simple!" Shion snapped, shoving away from the desk and turning to face the immense window behind her. Chikaru flinched, and she sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "And I'm not threatened by him," she added under her breath, sounding more like a petulant child than anything.

Chikaru stared at the floor, her eyes burning with the beginnings of unshed tears for a moment before she managed to collect herself. She stared at the Spican's rigid back, her legs dangling listlessly over the edge of the desk. "And what if he asked me to be his?" she asked coolly, in a voice so unlike her natural, soft-spoken tone that it caused Shion to spin back around in her chair, violet eyes boring into her own. "What then, kaichou?"

Shion's grip tightened around the armrests of her chair. "Don't push me, Chikaru," she finally stated lowly. "You _know _why we can't happen-"

"Because you've decided to alienate your friends for the sake of politics," Chikaru replied, and Shion glared up at her.

"Chikaru, it's not like that, and you know it."

"What is it like, then?" Chikaru asked quietly, her tone fading back into something resembling her usual sweet demeanor. She leaned forward, running her fingers along Shion's stiff, white color. "Because I'm starting to wonder if there's a real reason at all."

"Stop it, Chikaru," Shion muttered, though she made no attempt to pull away.

Chikaru paused, her eyes flitting up and down Shion's frozen figure. "Stop it," she mused quietly. "Is there anything I can do to please you now, Shion-chan? I can't have a relationship with Kenshi-kun, but you don't want me either?"

"Chikaru," Shion choked out, her tone laced with pain. The girl looked exhausted- shattered, even, and Chikaru leaned closer to her, brushing a single stray tear away, balancing her two feet on either side of the Spican's chair. "Don't _say _that, you _know _that's not the reason why."

"Then give me another reason, kaichou, because yours isn't making much sense anymore," Chikaru murmured, her breath ghosting against Shion's lips just before she closed the distance between them, clasping her hands around the back of the Spican's neck, fingers tangled in long, pristine blonde hair.

Shion sighed, her breath leaving her nose in one long burst as she rolled the chair closer to the desk and then stood between Chikaru's legs, wrapping her arms around the girl's slender waist in a possessive embrace. She felt Chikaru smile into the kiss and tightened her grip, pulling the girl flush against her, almost causing the brunette to slip off of the desk.

Chikaru wrapped her legs around the Spican's waist, tilting her head to press slow, repeated kisses to Shion's lips, her insides swirling because she'd been missing this- this one part of her for so long, and now _finally_ she was whole. She felt Shion press closer, felt the blonde's tongue parting her lips, and slid her arms around the Spican's neck, pulling her closer to her so that the blonde had to brace herself on either side of Chikaru in order to keep the contact.

And then slowly, Chikaru regained her senses and began to pull away, only to be tugged back by an insatiable Shion. She shook her head, this time pressing her hands against Shion's chest as she pulled away, preventing the blonde from pulling her back. "We have to stop, Shion-chan," she breathed, stroking the dazed Spican's cheek.

Shion looked as though she'd just been through an upside down roller coaster, her pupils blown and her hair mussed, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "W-why?" she finally asked, and suddenly she was the Shion Chikaru used to know, way back when they were ten, back when politics was just a fancy word for some foreign, grown-up topic. This Shion wasn't so sure of herself- this Shion had been Chikaru's prince, once upon a time.

The sight brought a swell of tears to Chikaru's eyes, and she had to avert her gaze from the innocent violet eyes staring back at her. "Because you'll regret this, Shion-chan," she finally said in a hollow whisper.

The reply was instant, rushed and breathless- words that made Chikaru's heart halt in its rhythm.

"How could I ever regret you?"

A single tear escaped Chikaru's eye, and she quickly brushed it away, leaning forward to press a brief kiss to the shell-shocked Spican. "That's something you'll have to tell me sometime, Shion-chan- I never understood it myself, not even after all these years."

The effect that the kiss had on Shion was almost as though the Spican had been drinking for several hours. And as much as Chikaru would like to make herself believe the Spican's words, she knew the blonde well enough to know that, no matter how much Shion meant the words that came tumbling out of her mouth in this moment, she could not mean them enough to make her willing to jeopardize her position.

She never did.

"Goodbye, Shion-chan," Chikaru murmured, retying the blonde's bow tie, which had come undone at some point. "I'll see you at the council meeting tomorrow, ne?"

Shion just nodded dazedly, and Chikaru spared her one last, fond smile before slipping out of the room.

She never made it out to the lake- instead she headed straight for her (thankfully) single room and collapsed on her bed in a heap, her sobs muffled by her pillows as she struggled to breathe through the intense pain in her chest.

**PGBR**

Tamao's heart broke in her chest as she was passed in the hallway by a positively shattered Chikaru, whose attempt at a serene smile only managed to make her seem more broken.

Why was everything always so messed up now?

Why did everyone have to hurt so much?

She turned the corner, lost in thought, tears stabbing at the corners of her eyes, only to run straight into a slender figure coming the opposite direction.

"Itai…" she muttered, real tears seeping out now. She glanced up at the person she had quite literally bowled over and her violet eyes widened as she leapt to her feet. "Rokujou-sama! Gomenasai, I didn't see-"

"It's fine, Suzumi-san," Miyuki stated with a small smile, brushing herself off. "You seem distracted- is that your permanent state of mind these days?"

Tamao smiled weakly. "It seems so," she said, glancing down at the floor. Miyuki frowned.

"Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"Huh?" Tamao asked, eyes widening as she snapped from her thoughts. "Oh, no, I'm fine- if anything, I should be asking you that."

Miyuki nodded slowly. "If you're not hurt, then why are you crying?" she asked quietly, reaching out to touch Tamao's cheek. The contact was faint- nothing more than a slightly brush of skin against skin, but Tamao started, her heart racing in her chest.

"I'm…I just…" Tamao sighed; she'd never been a good liar, but she could hardly tell Miyuki the full truth- that would take hours, and the last thing she wanted to do was just dump her problems on her crush. "I saw Chikaru rush by, just now, and she looked absolutely heartbroken. It just makes me want to cry, seeing her- maybe the strongest person I've ever met- fall apart like that, when the rest of us are just barely holding ourselves together," she said quietly, realizing that she'd already said too much.

Miyuki sighed, suddenly dropping her stern façade. "Tomori-san doesn't know what she has in Chikaru," she said softly. "It does seem hopeless, doesn't it? She has always been the one to pick up the pieces, ever since she first arrived at Le Rim, and now that she's falling apart just like the rest of us, who is there to put it all back together?"

Tamao only nodded, staring at the ground. "My Nagisa, she's…" She closed her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from streaming out. "It's like I'm completely alone now- even though I was used to it before, and it should be second nature to go back after only half a year…."

"It's not second nature to be alone, Suzumi-san," Miyuki replied quietly, but firmly, in a voice that somehow brought Tamao back to herself, just a little bit. "You've just realized what you've been missing out on, and now that it's gone, it's like it's taken a part of you with it. If you'd never been alone…if you spent your whole life clinging to the person you trusted more than anything, and then…" She broke off, taking a deep breath, clearly holding herself together for Tamao's sake. "It's not good to build your happiness on the shoulders of one person, even if you trust them with your life- even if you never think they'll ever let you go. It's a hard lesson to learn, isn't it?"

"You loved Shizuma," Tamao said, finally looking up to meet Miyuki's eyes. "You loved her, and she knew it, didn't she? She knew you relied on her, and still…"

"This isn't Shizuma's fault," Miyuki replied, shaking her head. "As much as I wish I could blame her, I can't- none of us can. We all knew that she was barely holding herself together; that she would fall eventually."

Tamao's eyes flashed suddenly, and she raised herself to her full height, staring into Miyuki's eyes with a silent challenge. "Yes, that much was obvious, especially the night Nagisa ran to me and cried in my arms because Shizuma still loved Kaori. Because it was okay for her to break Nagisa's heart because her own wasn't completely healed, wasn't it? It was okay for her to mourn for Kaori at Nagisa's expense- to try to move on before she was ready and let Nagisa suffer for it," she replied, her voice raising with every word she spoke. And then she seemed to deflate in on herself, sinking to the floor, back against the wall, her head buried in her arms. "Just like it was okay for her to snatch my Nagisa from me in the middle of the Etoile elections, just because it took her that long to realize how much of a mistake she was making. Just because she couldn't wait another minute to steal her away from me."

By this point, Tamao was sobbing quietly into her arms, her entire body shaking with the force of the sobs. Miyuki looked down at the girl, her heart breaking for her as she realized that Tamao wasn't as strong as they had all thought. "It was selfish of her," she finally stated, slowly sinking to the floor beside Tamao. "Shizuma has always been a selfish girl- she doesn't mean to be, but she's never learned how to put things into perspective."

"I pushed her away."

Miyuki blinked, turning to face the slumped girl beside her. "Well, yes, I did see that-"

Tamao's slight body was racked with a dry, painful sob. "I pushed her away because she was going to stay, but just before that, she turned to me and I saw it in her eyes- she didn't want to stay. It was for the sake of my f_eelings_," she spat the word as if it were poison, "but I could see that all I was to her was a burden. I pushed her away because she already made her choice. I never even had a chance."

The younger girl let out another broken sob, and Miyuki hesitated for only a moment before turning to her and wrapping her up in her arms, running a comforting hand down her trembling back.

She'd spent so long pretending that the pain didn't exist, cowering away from it like it would go away if she just ran long enough. But it had caught her- it had caught all of them, and now she had to be strong for the first time, and deal with the consequences as so many girls' worlds crumbled around them.

And so she stayed like that, holding the shaking, broken girl (the girl who wasn't strong enough to deal with the aching in her chest, the girl who had hoped against hope until the last minute) for she didn't know how long in that dark, empty hallway until the tremors finally began to subside as Tamao fell asleep in her arms.

**LONG chapter, please don't expect this all the time, it's just that my muse came to me around the Miyuki/Tamao part, and I just kept writing until it was gone. It's a very emotional and important chapter with very few boys, I hope you all liked it!**

**I've just finished my first ACTUAL novel…not that I'll ever publish it :/ I was gonna post it on FictionPress, but nobody ever reviews because I don't think a lot of people use the site :P I don't know why, considering how many people use fanfiction…huh :P **


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